Marcella Pauline Munson

Our vibrant and creative mother has passed. Marcella was a beloved teacher, talented artist, passionate gardener, daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, friend. Marcella Munson, 94, formerly of Heritage Village, Southbury, Connecticut, died peacefully in the early morning hours on March 11, at River Glen Health Care Center in Southbury, CT. Marcella was born on June 18, 1931, to Alice (Karatkewicz) and Francis Rogalsky, in Middletown, CT

Marcella attended the University of Connecticut where she was a member of the Alpha Delta Pi Sorority, was voted Freshman Class Queen, and where she met her future husband, George Munson Jr. Early in their marriage George and Marcella moved from Danbury, Connecticut, to their home in Newtown, CT, where they raised their family. Once her children were of school age, Marcella returned to school, earning a Bachelor of Science degree cum laude in Elementary Education. After graduating college Marcella worked as an elementary school teacher at Middle Gate School in Newtown until George’s employment moved them south to Georgia.

When George and Marcella left Newtown they moved to Alpharetta, Georgia, and then to Santa Barbara, California, where George worked at the University of California, Santa Barbara and Marcella worked as a trained optician. But then wanderlust stole their hearts. They purchased their RV, “September Song,” and traveled for five years throughout the continental US, Canada, and Mexico, often stopping to visit children and grandchildren living on both coasts. When they settled back down, they chose Dana Point, California, to put down some roots. It was in their California home that Marcella’s creativity soared as she created beautiful gardens, designed and sewed sometimes silly sometimes sexy costumes for parties, learned and refined her stained-glass techniques, and volunteered as a docent for the Pilgrim, a tall ship based at the Ocean Institute, in Dana Point, California. On the Pilgrim her vibrance and fortitude was demonstrated through crew initiation by climbing the rattling’s some 50 feet up and into the Crow’s Nest, as a 70-year-old. George and Marcella spent their later years back in Connecticut, residing in Heritage Village where Marcella again created beautiful gardens, stunning quilts, and beautiful pieces in stained glass. She was a member of the Heritage Village Women’s Club, the Strips ‘n’ Squares Quilting Club, and the Stained-Glass Club.

While Marcella was living in Heritage Village she embarked upon a real estate career where she exclusively sold Heritage Village properties. Her indomitable spirit fueled her success until, at the age of 87, she conceded that she was finally getting old.

She is survived by her children, Pamela M. Tweed and her husband, David, of Rutherfordton, North Carolina, George E. Munson III, of Lewes, Delaware, and Susan M. Johnson and her husband, Allan, of Southbury, Connecticut; four grandchildren, Josh, Cassie, Ian (Katie), and Jessi; her sister, Adele (Rogalsky) Trembly, and her great grandson, Seamus.

Our Mom, Marcella, will always be remembered for her vitality, artistry, gracefulness, and warm and welcoming smile. Marcella’s ashes will be buried next to her husband’s ashes in the family plot in the Newtown Village (Hawley) Cemetery, Newtown, Connecticut. A memorial to honor Marcella’s life will be held in June when the world will be full of flowers. The service will be held at the Community Chapel, 24 Hawley Road, Oxford, CT at 11am on June 20, 2026. A picnic reception on the church property will immediately follow.

The family would like to thank the wonderful staff at River Glen Health Care Center for the love and care given to Marcella in the last two and a half years of her life.

If you would like to honor Marcella’s memory, plant some flowers or give flowers to someone who needs to feel loved.